Michael II of Byzantium

Michael II of Byzantium (770-2 October 829) was the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 820 to 829, succeeding Leo V of Byzantium and preceding Theophilos of Byzantium.

Biography
Michael was born in 770 to the House of Amorios, and he rose to high rank as a soldier. He helped his friend Leo, also a high-ranking soldier, seize power as Leo V of Byzantium and oust Michael I of Byzantium, but Leo later sentenced Michael to death after falling out. In 820 he had Leo killed, and Michael became the new emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He fought Thomas the Slav's rebellion, which nearly cost him his throne. Later, the Arabs seized Sicily and Crete, two more disasters for his rule. When he died in 829, he was succeeded by Theophilos of Byzantium, his son.